UniCem’s Portland Cement gains wider currency in South-East, South-South

The 32.5R and 42.5N variants of Portland Limestone Cement, produced by the United Cement Company of Nigeria Limited (UniCem), are gaining wider acceptance in the South-East and South-South parts of the country. The products are also gradually gaining entrance in the South-West states, though not without stiff competition.

Reasons for this include the company’s product differentiation initiative and increased enlightenment of contractors, block makers, artisans and end users on cement grades and applications; consistency in high product quality; adherence to strict regulatory standards set by the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON); more focus on customer satisfaction; attestation of product durability and fine finish by users, among others.
Owing to this unmitigated market leadership in the two Southern regions, the firm has increased direct and indirect workforce to 1463 to meet growing demands, while committing about $470.6 million (N80 bn) into a second line to increase capacity to 5 million tons, from the current 2.5 million tons.

“UniCem has become the leading manufacturer and supplier of cement in the South-South and South-East of Nigeria. The company’s products are designed to serve diverse range of customers, from block moulders, home owners, builders and construction companies involved in small to mega and specialised projects,’’ the company said in an e-mail to BusinessDay’s Real Sector Watch.
Oliver Ume, a contractor in Awka, Anambra State, corroborated this in a telephone chat with BusinessDay. According to him, many of his colleagues in the region prefer UniCem’s CEM II 32.5R Portland Limestone due to its high strength and performance, workability and fine finish, making it suitable for both general purpose and structural concrete applications.

For 42.5N, he says his colleagues have come to realise that it offers effective solution to the requirements of a wide range of specialised and ordinary application, adding that there is currently increased awareness by end users that the grade is ideal for bridges, high rise buildings, reservoir construction, massive beams and slab construction, among others.

“We have come to associate with UniCem’s Portland Limestone because nothing delights contractors or professionals than working with cement that has high strength, fast-setting, durability and fine finish,’’ he says.
UniCem, third largest cement manufacturer in Nigeria, operates a state-of-the-art 2.5 million tons installed capacity plant at Mfamosing, Akamkpa Local Government, Cross River State, with an additional 2.5 million tons capacity line planned to commence production by 2016. Sinoma Group of China is constructing the new cement line. The project includes the building of a new 45 megawatts Captive Power Plant (CPP) by Wärtsilä Nigeria Limited.
The raw materials required in the production of the cement making process – limestone and marl – are mined at the adjacent quarries, which are located along a limestone belt, known for its abundance and quality.
In January this year, a coalition of civil society groups had linked incessant building collapses around the country to poor cement quality.

According to their argument, 32.5 grade of cement is low quality grade, while 42.5 is of higher quality. But Real Sector Watch had interacted with a number of professionals who explicitly said that cement quality had no connection with building collapses around the country. These professionals said each cement grade had its own application; 42.5 for high rise structures; 32.5 for plastering, block making, and masonry works, among others.
Victor O. Oyenuga, immediate past president, Nigerian Institution of Structural Engineers, had said that rather than cement, factors responsible for such unfortunate incidents include improper soil test, faulty design, conversion of residential buildings to offices, shoddy construction practices, non-engagement of professionals in the building process and mixture, among others. To him, using a bag of cement in a situation where two bags are needed is a serious building malpractice also responsible for this.

Kunle Awobodu, president, Building Collapse Prevention Guild (BCPG) set up by the SON in 2011, identified faulty and copied design, lack of comprehensive subsoil investigation, non-adherence to approved designed, use of substandard materials, professional incompetence, cognitive dissonance, pilfering and ignorance, among others, as causes of building collapse.

Analysts add that cement produced locally are already used in other countries as companies involved are multinationals, which cannot afford to compromise standards. Besides, they say that if projects like Cocao House, Oriental Hotel, UBA headquarters at Marina, Lagos, Tinapa, Transcorp Metropolitan Hotel, Michael Ani Secretariat, University of Calabar, the Federal and State Housing Estate in Calabar, Cross River State, among others, could be constructed with local cement, it means locally-made cement has an internationally accepted quality.

In spite of these, UniCem has taken the bull by the horns to end the menace. Currently, the firm runs training and skills development programmes, in partnership with the SON. Block makers and building artisans will be issued with certificates after the training. This year, the company said it will train 5,000 artisans within South-South and South-East regions as well as distribute free educational literature to them.
It also engaged government institutions and professionals through seminars on building specifications and enforcement.